More to the Story Itself
by Spydurwebb
Summary: What happens when our characters aren't onscreen? This series of one-shots set in mostly Classic Who feature primarily the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane, although others may make an appearance.
1. After the Masque

_This takes place just at the end of Masque of Mandragora. As always, I own nothing, but it's fun to play in the Sandbox. I'm hoping to make this a series of one-shots that take place in Classic Who. What happened between the adventures?_

AFTER THE MASQUE

Sarah looked back towards Guiliano and waved. 'Poor Guiliano, he looks so wistful.' She glanced at the Doctor as he got ready to unlock the TARDIS door. 'Will he have any more trouble from Mandragora?'

'No, he won't, but the Earth will. The constellation will be in position to try again, oh, in about 500 years.'

Sarah did the quick math. '500 years. That takes us to,' she paused as she realised, 'just about the end of the 20th century.'

The Doctor smiled. 'That's right. Now that WAS an interesting century.'

Sarah laughed as the Doctor pulled her up and into the TARDIS. 'What do you mean, was?'

'C'mon.' The Doctor shut the door quickly behind Sarah and walked over to the console, inputting coordinates and dematerialising. He reached up and wrapped his hands tightly around the gold bar surrounding the top of the console, letting his head drop.

Sarah walked up to him and gently put a hand on his arm. 'Doctor?' she said softly. When he didn't respond, she put her other arm around his back. 'Doctor?' she asked more urgently.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked at her. 'It all worked out this time, Sarah, but it was rather close.' He paused for a minute, his voice going to an even lower pitch. 'Especially for you.' He turned his entire body towards her and put a hand on each of her upper arms. His eyes locked on her. 'Heironymous and the brotherhood did a number on you, between your almost sacrifice and hypnotic suggestion.'

'Yes, but it all worked out, in the end.' Sarah smiled up at him, trying to gauge what was running through is mind.

'What if the next time it doesn't?'

'What do you mean?'

'Sarah, people have learned to use you as a weapon. Scorby and Chase with the Krynoid pods, and now Heironymous. Who's next? I can't bear to see you hurt.'

Sarah tilted her head slightly. 'What are you saying? Do you not want me travelling with you anymore?' she asked nervously.

He released her and stepped back as if she were on fire. His eyes blazed with something she couldn't recognise. 'What? Where did you get that idea?' he questioned heatedly.

Sarah started to say something, but couldn't get past the look in his eyes. She took her own step back and watched as he turned quickly and practically stomped out of the console room. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to calm her frayed nerves and walked towards the interior door. Looking each way down the corridor, she didn't see the Doctor in either direction.

Part of her wasn't sure if she wanted to find him or not. The look in his eyes was something she wouldn't soon forget. It was times like that she was reminded that he wasn't human. She worked her way towards the library, thinking he may have gone there, but sticking her head in tentatively, she realised the room was still empty. She surmised to herself that the TARDIS was large enough, if the Doctor didn't want to be found, she'd never find him, no matter how hard she looked.

She pulled a large book off one of the many shelves and settled down on the sofa, tucking her legs beneath her. Opening the book, she put it in her lap, then folded her arm up on the side of the sofa and rested her chin on her arm. As she read, her eyelids got heavier and heavier and after a few moments, she was sound asleep.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor just needed some time to think. Time to go through the swirling torrent of emotions that went through him after the last couple harrowing adventures. He wandered the hallways aimlessly, cataloging each emotion, deciding how to deal with it, then filing it away for future reference. He didn't like that Sarah was being used as a weapon. She'd often been in danger before, but lately, it seemed like their enemies were searching her out to use her. That bothered him more than just seeing her in trouble. That was harder to fight against.

He pondered whether it was just that he was more sensitive to them using her, or whether it was the deeper feelings that thinking about Sarah generated. He's always cared about his companions, but with Sarah… He quickly stifled that line of thinking, figuring it wouldn't gain him anything except frustration.

The Doctor was almost sure that Sarah would've caught up with him by now. He looked behind him to see if she was perhaps following him from just a distance, but she was nowhere to be seen. He reached up and put a hand on the wall of the TARDIS and closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and walked determinedly towards the library. Opening the door, he walked in and immediately smiled as he saw Sarah asleep curled up on the sofa.

~!~!~!~

Sarah didn't remember falling asleep, but as she awakened, she knew she hadn't fallen asleep in a bed. Without moving, she realised that she was lying on her side and her head was using an arm for a pillow, except that it wasn't her arm. She could also feel a hand resting lightly on her waist.

'Good morning,' the velvet tone whispered just behind her ear.

She looked around, but without moving. 'Where are we?' Sarah whispered.

The Doctor answered softly, 'One of the spare rooms near the library. You were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to take you all the way back to your room for fear you'd wake up, but knew you'd be stiff if you stayed curled up the way you were on that sofa. You had a rough couple of days while we were in Italy, so I wanted to make sure you got your rest.'

Even though she was fully dressed, Sarah pulled the blanket up around her closely and rolled over to face the Doctor. She immediately noticed that she was under the covers, but that he was lying on top of them. As she looked at him, he reached up and pushed a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, giving her an easy smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. After several minutes of silence, Sarah finally spoke. 'Where did you go earlier?'

'I had to think, Sarah.'

She nodded slowly. 'I thought as much.' She reached out and touched his face tentatively. 'Are you all right?'

'As much as I could be, knowing that my best friend has been used as a weapon, and hating every moment that I couldn't protect her from that.'

'She hated it as well, and hated herself for letting it happen and not being able to stop it.'

'Oh, no, Sarah, please don't do that. There's nothing you could've done any differently.'

'And neither could you.' She took a deep breath. 'So, where does that leave us? I asked you a question before you left the console room.'

The Doctor reached up and rested his hand on Sarah's cheek. 'I don't want you to leave, my Sarah Jane.' His voice dipped even to an even lower tone, if that was possible. 'If I had my preference, you wouldn't ever leave.'

Sarah smiled, a bit in awe of not just what he'd just said, but the tone itself. 'Surely you would get tired of me in forever.'

'Somehow I don't think so, Sarah. You've managed to somehow endear yourself to me in a way that none of my other companions ever have. I want to protect you and keep you safe, and if keeping you with me is the way to do that,' he grinned as he continued, 'then I'm willing to make the sacrifice.'

She smacked him on the arm playfully and laughed. 'That's very big of you.' Deciding to venture in possibly unknown territory, she looked straight into his eyes. 'So, where do we go from here?'

The Doctor sat up so suddenly that Sarah found it physically jolting. 'A vacation, I promised you a vacation. We really do need a break and Relaxation Station certainly wasn't it.' He jumped off the bed and headed towards the door. Just as he was getting ready to walk out the door, he turned back and looked at her. 'Are you coming, Sarah?' He gave her one of his 1,000-watt smiles.

She rolled her eyes as got out of bed and pulled on her boots. 'Aliens,' she muttered under her breath. She turned back to him and smiled as she joined him by the door, 'Nothing could stop me, Doctor.'

~!~!~!~


	2. Change Is Good, Right?

_The second in the series of one-shots taking place either between the stories, or to fill in holes that exist._

_This scene takes place during the Fourth Doctor's first adventure - Robot. After meeting with Think Tank and Professor Kettlewell, Sarah heads home for a good night's rest before her investigation of the Scientific Reform Society the following day. In my mind, Sarah seemed to look to the Brigadier a lot more that first day, but then after her meeting with the SRS, when the Doctor is attacked by the Robot, she jumps quickly to his aid._

_This is what I think transpired between those two days._

CHANGE IS GOOD, RIGHT?

In the Doctor's lab at UNIT headquarters, Sarah made her way towards the door. 'Where are you off to now?' the Brigadier asked.

Sarah smiled, 'Home to bed. Still a working girl, you know. You know, the one thing about secret societies, they're never adverse to a bit of free publicity.' And with one last quick glance and a smile for both the Brigadier and the Doctor, she headed out the door and made her way towards her car.

Sarah sat in the car park for a moment before putting her car in gear. The weight of everything that had happened in the previous couple of days was beginning to catch up with her. She took a deep breath and spoke aloud to herself. 'Wait until you get home, Sarah, shove it to the back of your mind. Think about it later.' She took a few more breaths, then put her car in gear and headed back towards her flat.

At her flat, she closed the door behind her and after securing the lock, she turned and practically fell back against it. She sniffed as the tears began to fall. Without turning on any lights, she made her way towards the living room and dropped into the closest chair. Sarah wiped away the tears that once started, seemed unable to stop. Her logical mind had watched the Doctor die, but he didn't die, he changed. The immediate vibe she got from this new Doctor was a 180-degree shift from what she was used to.

Regeneration, the Doctor had called it when it happened to his mentor at the monastery just a few weeks previously. But this wasn't anything like Kampo, or Cho Je, or whatever he was calling himself these days. 'Of course he will look quite different.' The statement echoed in her mind, along with, 'You may find his behaviour somewhat erratic.' This was too much for her to take in. At least it seemed that way in the moment.

Sarah had not allowed herself to feel anything the previous night. Everything was so fresh at that point, and she was more concerned about whether the Doctor would even survive. Now that he was awake and seemingly settled into his new look and personality, things began to sink in for her. Part of her mourned the passing of the Doctor she had come to care deeply for; another part of her mourned what she expected to be the end of her travelling days. She resigned herself to fond memories and perhaps a more stable existence going forward.

The tears finally stopped and as she wiped them away, her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. A dark shadow loomed in the far corner, but all she could make out was a boxy shape. Without getting out of the chair, she reached over to the small lamp on the table next to her. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream as she saw the Doctor sitting in the chair opposite her.

~!~!~!~

Once the Doctor was sure the Brigadier had left UNIT headquarters, he quickly jumped up and ran into the TARDIS. He had an urgent matter to attend to. The trip was short, as he knew it would be. The Doctor exited the TARDIS, hoping he was in the right flat. There were no lights on, but he heard a key being turned in the front door. He quickly sat down in the chair closest to the TARDIS and waited.

He didn't have to wait long, and knew instantly that he was in the right place. Even if he couldn't see Sarah, unfortunately, he recognized the sound of her crying. He watched as she came in and sat down and began to cry in earnest. With each sob, his hearts broke a bit more. He knew he should alert her to his presence, to reach out and give her some expression of comfort, but he couldn't quite fathom exactly what to do. His previous self would've known exactly how to respond to her, but everything was new now.

The one thing he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that he wanted to continue to have her travel with him. She wouldn't be the first companion that couldn't handle the changes, though, so he'd wanted to spend a bit of time with her, to reassure her that his feelings hadn't changed.

He could feel her eyes on him as she realised he was watching her. He waited as she reached out to turn on the light, and then could only smile as she stifled her scream. 'Hello, Sarah Jane.'

Once Sarah was able to get her breathing back to normal, she looked over at the Doctor and that Cheshire cat smile pasted on his face. 'Doctor, what are you doing here?'

He moved from the chair to the small sofa to sit closer to her. 'I wanted to make sure you were all right, Sarah. I mean, with all of this.'

'What is all of this, exactly? When Kanpo Rimpoche regenerated, he became Cho Je. You're not anyone I've seen before.'

'Yes, well, my old mentor is a very powerful Time Lord. I don't have the ability to project my next incarnation. Of course, his was a natural regeneration based on age. Mine, let's just say that I've only had one natural regeneration, and even then I wasn't able to control it.'

The journalist in Sarah kicked in. 'So each regeneration is different?'

'I never know exactly what's going to happen or what's going to prompt it.'

'How many times has this happened to you?'

'Three. So this is my fourth incarnation.'

'And it's a complete and total change, nothing's the same?'

'For the most part, that's correct. Looks, personality quirks, those are all different, and it'll take me a while to settle in. Certain feelings, my core values and beliefs, all those stay the same.' He watched her reactions, being patient in answering all her questions. He knew this was important for her to understand. It was important for him if he expected her to want to continue to travel with him.

She nodded, 'I have to admit, Doctor. This will take a bit of time to get used to.'

He smiled, 'I hope that means that you'll give me the time, Sarah. The one thing I'm absolutely sure of is that I enjoy your company and don't want to lose that.'

She gave him a small smile. 'I was afraid you wouldn't want me around after this.'

The Doctor stood up and crossed over to her, perching precariously on the edge of her chair. He reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. 'Oh Sarah. I don't know exactly what this incarnation will shake out to be like, but I do know this, you were important to me before, and you're just as important to me now.'

Sarah reached up and covered his hand with hers. 'This is all very strange, but then again, my perception or normal has changed quite a bit since I've known you, Doctor.'

With a bright smile, he stood up and walked quickly back over to the TARDIS. 'Be careful tomorrow, Sarah, but sleep well tonight.'

She smiled. 'Thank you, Doctor, I will. On both counts.'

He headed into the TARDIS, then stuck his head back out and looked at her intently for a moment. 'You're a good girl, Sarah.'

Sarah rolled her eyes and laughed. 'Good night, Doctor.'

~!~!~!~


	3. Revenge of the Thals

_In part 3 of this ongoing series of one-shots, I've always wondered why the dystronic explosives that Sarah was exposed to on Skaro never caught up with her, despite the statements that it was deadly. During the remainder of Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen, it was never mentioned again, until now..._

_This takes place immediately following the end of Revenge of the Cybermen as the Doctor, Sarah and Harry enter the TARDIS._

REVENGE OF THE THALS

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry entered the TARDIS, pushing the printout from the Brigadier's time space telegraph out of the way. The Doctor was fussing as he moved the paper away from the console, 'Why the Brigadier thinks that the more times he uses that the faster we'll be there... I'm a Time Lord, not an errand boy.'

While the Doctor continued to complain loudly and punch buttons on the console, Harry finally interrupted. 'I say, Doctor, how long will it take us to get back to the Brigadier?'

'I don't know,' the Doctor snapped without looking up. 'Several hours at best.'

'It's been a very long few days. Would it be possible for me to find a place to lie down for a bit?'

The Doctor finally looked up at him. 'Right, yes, of course. Just go down the hallway, make the first left, the second right and take the third door to the right.'

Harry turned to Sarah, who was standing with her hands resting against the console, head bowed. 'All you all right, Old Girl?'

She looked up at him, 'Harry,' she chided, then her features relaxed. 'I'm fine.' She said softly.

'Righto.' Harry gave her a final look and a small smile before heading out of the console room and down the hallways as directed by the Doctor.

'I'm not going to continue to be the Brigadier's puppet, Sarah. I've had enough.' The Doctor glanced up at Sarah and noticed she'd gone deathly pale and was now leaning heavily on the console. He quickly crossed over to her. 'Sarah?'

As she looked up, he couldn't miss the glaze covering her eyes. 'I'm ok,' she managed to get out before staggering back. The Doctor caught her around the waist before she could fall. She fought him slightly, 'I'm fine, really.'

Ignoring her arguments, and quickly scooping her up, the Doctor made his way towards the sickbay. He gently put Sarah on one of the diagnostic beds, and began to fasten a couple pieces of equipment to her hands and forehead.

She propped herself up slowly and groggily. 'What are you doing, Doctor?'

He came back over to her side, resting his hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back down. 'Sarah, lie down and keep still. I need to find out why you're ill. The virus you were injected with by the Cybermat shouldn't still be causing you a problem.'

Sarah's eyes closed, but she softly spoke. 'What about the Thal rocket?'

'The one they had you locked up by on Skaro?'

She nodded, ever so slowly. 'Dystronic explosives.'

'What?' he exclaimed. 'They exposed you to dystronic toxaemia and you never mentioned it?'

'I felt fine until now.'

He turned from her and went to examine his equipment. He ran the back of his hand across his lips as he read the results scrolling across the screen. He glanced back to Sarah. 'It is low level dystronic radiation poisoning.' He went over to one of the cabinets and pulled out several bottles of tablets, looking briefly at each label before putting them back. After about the fifteenth bottle, he smiled. 'Aha, now this looks promising.'

The Doctor took the bottle over to Sarah. 'Sarah, sit up for a second.' He reached out and helped her to sit up. He handed her a couple of tablets. 'You need to take these. Just let them melt underneath your tongue.'

Sarah silently took the tablets. After a moment, the Doctor helped her to lie back down. 'How long before I get better, Doctor?' she groggily asked.

'Not long Sarah, I promise. You'll be back to full health when we get back to Earth.'

Eyes closed, Sarah only nodded.

The Doctor watched her for a moment, then reached out and smoothed her hair back. 'Oh Sarah, I'm so sorry,' he whispered. 'If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in this mess.'

Sarah reached up and squeezed his hand, but didn't open her eyes. 'Don't say that Doctor. There wasn't anything you could've done, or anything I would've done differently.'

He ignored her statement, releasing her hand and heading towards the door. 'I'm going to set the TARDIS to float in the vortex for a while. The Brigadier can wait. You need to get better. Once your readings get back to normal, I'll help you get back to your room where you can get a proper rest.'

Sarah opened her eyes and looked up at the Doctor. 'Harry will appreciate a full night's sleep too, I'm sure,' Sarah added softly.

He turned back and smiled, 'I completely forgot about Harry, but yes, I'm sure he can do with the rest as well.'

'What about you, Doctor? Don't you need rest as well? I mean, I know you don't sleep as much as we do, but still, you've had a few trying days as well.'

'Never you worry, Sarah,' he said as he walked out the sickbay door back towards the console room.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor walked Sarah slowly down the hallways of the TARDIS back towards her room. His arm was around her waist supporting her, but she insisted on walking herself, even if she was leaning heavily against him.

'Why did all this not happen while we were still on Skaro? Or at the very latest, why didn't I notice anything on Nerva or transmatting back and forth to Voga?' Sarah asked softly.

'I don't honestly know, Sarah. It's just as much a mystery to me as well. The only thing that comes to mind is that the adrenaline from everything else that was going on may have just kept it at bay until we finally got someplace you felt you could relax.' The Doctor swung the door open in front of them. 'Here we are, Sarah, now we can tuck you up in your room, safe and sound.'

'And you think just a good night's sleep will get the rest of this out of my system?'

He gave her a small smile. 'It might take a couple of days, but you need the rest anyway.'

She worked her way slowly over to the bed, and pulled back the covers. She sat down on the edge of the bed and just leaned forward, holding her head in her hands.

Frowning, the Doctor sat down gently beside her. 'Sarah?'

She looked up, 'Sorry, Doctor.' She sat up straight. 'You're right, I think I can use a couple of days sleep. My brain is just numb.'

The Doctor stood up, but reached out and rested his hand on the top of Sarah's head. 'Just get some sleep, Sarah. I'll come back and check on you later.'

As he headed towards the door, Sarah's voice stopped him. 'Doctor?' He turned back to look at her without a word and was met with a sight he didn't want to admit that he was afraid he'd not see again, her warm smile. 'Thank you. For everything.'

He gave her just as warm a smile in return. 'Anytime, Sarah Jane.'


	4. Revenge of the Thals Part 2

_Part 4 - Continues exactly where Part 3 ended - that scene just needed some more...something. There was more to tell about that adventure...  
_

REVENGE OF THE THALS - PART 2

The Doctor stuck his head underneath the console and began to make some minor repairs. Time passed quickly for him, but he kept getting distracted as his mind kept going back to Sarah and her condition. It worried him that both he and Harry missed her illness. They had important things to do, like make sure they completed their mission on Skaro, and then they got thrown into things back on Nerva with the Cybermen. The transmat eliminated the toxins from Sarah's system when she was dying, but yet it didn't eliminate the radiation damage that was already done. The effects of the dystronic explosives should have presented themselves much before they did.

He was lost in thought as he heard the inner door open, but his position under the console prevented him from seeing who walked in.

Harry couldn't see anyone in the console room, and somehow he wasn't surprised. 'Doctor? Sarah?' he called out.

The Doctor briefly debated standing up and talking to Harry, but then he quickly decided against it. Unless Harry walked around and saw him, he might not realise that they were in the same room. Just then, Harry knelt down beside him.

'So, Doctor, what are you working on, eh?'

'Just making a few repairs, Harry. You should still be asleep, you've only been resting a couple of hours.'

'It doesn't really take me much to bounce back, Doctor. A couple hours kip and I'm right as rain.' On another topic, he asked, 'So, has the Brigadier tried to reach you anymore?'

The Doctor's head shot up. 'The Brigadier is the last person on my mind at the moment!' he growled. 'We have more important things to take care of.'

'Such as?'

'Harry, did you not notice how ill Sarah was before you walked out of here a couple hours ago?'

Harry shook his head. 'She looked very tired, but that's not surprising, considering what we've been through in the past few days.' He looked around and realised she was nowhere to be seen, which was surprising, given she never left the Doctor's side unless forced to. 'I'm hoping she's getting some well deserved sleep.'

The Doctor stood up. 'She is sleeping, Harry, but we almost lost her. The dystronic explosives she was exposed to on Skaro were radioactive. Fortunately, I had an anti-toxin in sickbay. I just hope I wasn't too late.' With that, he stalked out of the room.

Harry started to follow him, out of his own concern for Sarah, but he didn't know his way to her room, and didn't honestly know if that's where the Doctor was heading anyway.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor looked behind him, half expecting Harry to follow him, but was actually relieved that he wasn't, even though he wasn't going straight to Sarah's room. He headed instead to the sickbay to pick up some equipment before heading back to check on Sarah.

Standing outside Sarah's door, he knocked very quietly, and put his ear to the door to listen before letting himself in. Sarah was sleeping, but not peacefully. He crossed the room in an instant, realising that she was actually having a minor seizure. Kneeling beside the bed, he reached up and held her shoulders tightly. 'Sarah,' he called out to her, then reached up and placed a hand on either side of her head, closing his eyes, mentally getting her to hold still.

Sarah finally quit shaking and opened her eyes. 'What's happening?' she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

'Sarah, I never should've left you alone. I need to keep a close eye on you.'

'Don't wanna go back to sickbay,' she shook her head and blinked slowly. 'Too uncomfortable.'

'We'll stay here.' The Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. He watched as her eyes got heavier. 'Just sleep, Sarah, I'll stay here with you.'

She nodded and was quickly back asleep.

He watched her for a moment, arguing to himself about how best to monitor her condition, then stood up and tossed his coat across the nearby chair. He kicked off his shoes and positioned himself on the bed next to her. Reaching out, he pulled her, blankets and all, towards him, pillowing her head against his chest.

~!~!~!~

Harry walked the hallways of the TARDIS, hoping to find Sarah's room. Ahead of him, he noticed a door open with light spilling out from the inside. Walking up to it, he gave it a light knock. 'Sarah, are you awake, Old Girl?'

He heard a loud shushing noise from inside. Sticking his head in, he was surprised to see the Doctor with his arms wrapped around Sarah, while she slept curled up against him, her head resting just under his chin. Harry raised his eyebrows, 'What's going on here, Doctor?' he asked quietly.

The Doctor whispered, 'She's been having seizures. This is the best way for me to monitor her respiration, heart rate and temperature.'

'Don't you have a sickbay where you could do all that?'

'I do, she asked to stay here.'

Sarah reached up and patted the Doctor's face, still mostly asleep. 'Shhhh, trying to sleep,' she mumbled without opening her eyes.

Just then, she began to convulse again. The Doctor tightened his grip around her, leaving Harry helpless to do anything except watch. As the tremors subsided, Sarah was left wide-awake, trying to catch her breath.

'Feeling better?' the Doctor asked softly as he pushed the hair away from her face.

Sarah nodded and glanced over at Harry, noting the concern in his eyes. 'Getting there. Not fun.'

Harry asked the question that was going through Sarah's mind. 'Doctor, how much longer is this going to last?'

'Hopefully not much longer. They're getting shorter, and not as severe.'

Harry walked over and knelt next to the bed, taking one of Sarah's hands in his. 'Do you need anything, Sarah?'

She gave him a half-smile. 'This to go away.'

He smiled, 'If I could make it go away, I would, as I know the Doctor would as well.' He stood up, suddenly feeling like the third wheel and headed back towards the door. 'I'm going to let you rest. Doctor, you seem to have matters under control. Just let me know if I can do anything.'

'Thanks, Harry,' Sarah said softly.

The Doctor nodded, 'Yes, thank you, Harry.'

As Harry left, Sarah turned back to the Doctor. 'Thank you for taking care of me.'

He smiled and wrapped his arms protectively around her, 'Of course, my Sarah Jane.'

~!~!~


	5. Dismantling the Pyramid

_A/N: This scene takes place immediately following the events of Pyramids of Mars..._

DISMANTLING THE PYRAMID

The Doctor practically pushed Sarah into the TARDIS as smoke and flames filled the old priory. He quickly replaced the Time Control unit, set the coordinates and dematerialised, then left the console room without as much as a word or a look back in Sarah's direction. Over their time together, she'd seen him get mad or frustrated and leave, but this time, there was no determination in him, just emptiness in his expression.

Sarah ran a hand across her eyes, the stress of the day wearing on her. Ultimately, they were able to defeat Sutekh, but not without seeing innocent people suffer. The number of people she'd seen die during the course of the day unnerved her, but the Doctor was seemingly unaffected. She had to remind herself that he wasn't human. She even called him on it earlier in the day.

The fact that he was a Time Lord rarely entered the equation of their relationship, but this was one of those cases where it was glaringly obvious. She laughed slightly as she remembered a conversation she'd had with Harry before he left the TARDIS regarding her affection for the Doctor. It ought to bother her that she'd gotten so comfortable with the Doctor and his unique alien-ness, but it didn't.

She sniffed and could smell smoke on her dress and in her hair from the fire back at the priory. Sarah headed back towards her room to take a long, hot bath and change into more comfortable clothes. She figured the Doctor would seek her out when he was ready.

Once Sarah was sufficiently comfortable, she made her way to the library to pick out a book. After she found one that looked interesting, she set out for the music room where she could read, listen to music and just relax. Putting on a nice classical medley, she settled down on one end of the overstuffed sofa, propped her feet up on the ottoman and began to read.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor wandered the hallways of the TARDIS aimlessly. This had been one of his more difficult days. He really didn't like the fact that Sutekh had been able to exert control over him. He didn't remember anything from the time he left the tomb area until the time they arrived on Mars and Sutekh released his grip on him. That loss of a chunk of time disturbed him more than he cared to admit.

He remembered waking up and finding Sarah crying over him. That also really bothered him. Apparently the death-like grip the mummies had exerted had been convincing enough that she had thought he was dead. The look of sheer joy that crossed her face when he woke up warmed him, but he hated the emotional roller coaster that he knew she had gone through over the course of the day.

It concerned him that Sarah had been forced to remember that he wasn't human. Before all this started, he'd been struggling with his own reminders of his Time Lord origins. It all boiled down to his enjoyment of his human companions, one human companion in particular. They'd been enjoying such an easy relationship; he wondered whether there was any way it could continue. Sarah was comfortable with him, just as he was with her and it was only occasionally that he was reminded that she wasn't a Time Lady, and that she was reminded that he wasn't human.

He'd not been that comfortable with another one of his companions. And even the ones he'd gotten close to, once he got too familiar, they left, either of their own volition, or because of some outside factor. He didn't like the thought that one day she would leave him, although logically, he knew it was bound to happen. The Doctor decided that if he could have his way, Sarah wouldn't leave him any time soon; and certainly not for some flimsy reason.

The Doctor shockingly realised that he'd not said anything to her when they'd left the old priory. Sarah understood the power of words and open communication, and the fact that she'd not come looking for him and hadn't called after him concerned him. With the day being as rough as it had been on both of them, he knew that he needed to seek her out and make sure she was ok. The last thing he needed at this point was for her to decide that he'd shut her out; therefore she wasn't important to him and should leave. It was a faulty line of logic that he needed to make sure wasn't cementing itself in Sarah's mind.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor finally found Sarah through the sounds of Beethoven echoing from the music room. She was obviously involved in her book, and didn't notice him enter. He stood there, watching her, taking in the tracksuit bottoms and oversized jumper she was wearing, as well as her freshly blow-dried but otherwise unstyled hair. Her entire posture was about relaxing, which warmed his hearts to the core.

He silently walked over and sat on the opposite end of the sofa from her. She glanced up at him, then went back to reading her book. 'Good book?' he finally asked.

'Not bad.'

The Doctor flipped over on his back, resting his head in Sarah's lap, staring up at her with a maniacal grin on his face.

She raised an eyebrow at him as she moved her book out of the way to look down at his face. With only his grin as a response, she finally asked, 'Comfortable?'

'Very.'

Sarah switched her book to only hold it in one hand, allowing her other hand to rest casually on the Doctor's chest. She continued to read for a few minutes, but the Doctor didn't seem inclined to start any conversation. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel his eyes looking up at her as she continued to read. Finally, she put the book down and looked at him. 'Are you all right?'

'We had a rough day today, didn't we?'

'It wasn't one of our better ones, I admit.' Finally a question occurred to her. 'I have to ask, Doctor, do you remember what happened when Sutekh took you over?'

The Doctor sighed, 'No, I don't. Please tell me that I didn't do or say anything to hurt you, Sarah.'

'What?' she exclaimed. 'Oh no, nothing like that.' She was quick to reassure him. 'It was just, well, odd. I could tell by your eyes that you weren't there anymore. I was afraid that you were past the point of return and that I'd lost you.' She took a deep breath before continuing. 'Then when we got to Mars, the mummies reached up and looked as if they were strangling you. You collapsed and they ignored me. When I listened, I couldn't hear either of your hearts beating.'

Sarah's hand was still resting on the Doctor's chest, so he reached up and squeezed her hand gently. 'My respiratory bypass is useful in situations like that.'

'So you said.'

'Although, I have to admit, using it leaves me with a nasty headache.'

Instinctively, Sarah put her other hand on the Doctor's forehead, smoothing back his wild mane of curls. 'Do you need me to turn down the music?'

'No, it's fine. Relaxing is usually the key to getting it to subside.' He closed his eyes as she continued to smooth his hair back. He reached up and began to massage at his temples, but Sarah pushed his hands out of the way and took over. She took the first two fingers of both hands and gently ran them across his forehead and temples, eventually closing her own eyes as she continued. The Doctor wanted to thank her, and let her know that he was already starting to feel better, but the words wouldn't quite come out.

After a moment, she said, 'You're welcome.'

He opened his eyes and looked at her. 'What?'

She gave him a confused look. 'What? You said "Thank you, that feels much better", at least I thought that's what you said, unless my hearing is going.'

'I thought that, but I didn't say it.' His Cheshire cat smile spread across his face. 'Why, Sarah Jane, I do believe you're awakening to the latent telepathic ability that all humans possess.'

'Don't be silly.' She watched him to see if his mouth moved, but instead, she heard his voice in her head. Her eyes widened in surprise. 'Yes, it's silly, but it's real?' she questioned.

'Possibly. However, I have a theory,' he admitted aloud. Sitting up, he slid down to the opposite end of the sofa. After a minute of just looking at Sarah, he shook his head. 'You didn't hear anything then, did you?'

Shaking her head, she replied, 'No, nothing.' He reached out his hand for her. Locking her eyes with his and sliding down the sofa closer to him, she reached out and took his hand. A grin spread across her features. 'Yes, that I heard.'

'It's increased by physical contact. Not surprising, given that it's low level. You may notice it increasing over time, or this may be as strong as it ever is.'

She slid back down to her original spot on the end of the sofa. 'Well, to be honest, Doctor, I don't want to think about it too much right now.'

The Doctor leaned in towards her, taking her hands in his. 'Are you all right, Sarah?'

'Uh huh.' She pondered her words for a minute before continuing, 'Your head still hurts though.' She motioned for him to put his head back down in her lap. 'So, no more talking, you need to relax.'

He smiled and put his head back in her lap. Sarah massaged his temples for several minutes before she was rewarded by a very soft snore. Smiling, she rested one hand back against his chest, picked up her book with her other hand and resumed her reading.

~!~!~!~


	6. Injurious Actions

_A/N: The Doctor and Sarah had a very tactile relationship in Planet of Evil, but then by Pyramids of Mars, something changed. This scene takes place between those two stories... UPDATE 6/2/09 - I did something I never do...I changed this after posting, sorry for the confusion!  
_

INJURIOUS ACTIONS

The Doctor frowned ever so slightly as Sarah hugged Vishinsky for his help on the Morestran ship as they fought the anti-matter monster. 'Come on Sarah, we've an appointment in London and we're already 30,000 years late.'

Sarah gave him a large smile, as they headed out the door and towards the TARDIS. As they headed down the stairs towards the airlock where the TARDIS was parked, the Doctor reached down and took her hand. Sarah jumped slightly and flinched, but said nothing. The Doctor noticed her flinch, but didn't say anything.

Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor set the coordinates for London. He had promised Sarah to have her in London five minutes before they'd left Loch Ness. He glanced up at her and saw her massaging her left hand and frowning. He quickly crossed over to her and took her left hand gently in his. 'What's wrong, Sarah?'

'I think I strained a muscle or something.'

'How did you do that?' He poked and pushed very gently on her hand.

She grunted as he hit a particularly painful spot. 'Pulling on you, probably,' she said. 'You did get yourself into a bit of a spot back there.'

'Nothing appears to be broken,' he continued staring intensely at her hand, ignoring what she'd said. 'You'll be fine.'

She finally pulled her hand back from him. 'I never said it was broken. I said I think I strained a muscle. It'll heal, given time.' Her voice was sharp, but the look in her eyes didn't match her tone of voice.

Ignoring her tone, he tried to place the look in her eyes and couldn't. 'Sarah, what's wrong?'

'Nothing. I'm just going to go take something for the inflammation.' She started to head towards the inner door, when the Doctor stepped forward to stop her.

'Sarah, wait.' He reached out and took her by the elbow, guiding her through the inner door. 'You wouldn't voluntary take medication unless it was really painful. Let's get you to sickbay. I have something that will help.' He released her elbow and draped an arm gently across her shoulders. Sarah was silent as they walked towards sickbay. The Doctor glanced over at her and frowned. The silence wasn't like her.

Once they got into sickbay, the Doctor patted the diagnostic bed. 'Hop up, Sarah.'

'What are you going to do?' she asked as she hopped up on the bed.

He brought a handheld device over to her. 'Hold out your hand.'

She did as he asked, but didn't say anything.

'You'll feel a slight tingle.' He watched Sarah's eyes as he ran the scanner over her hand. She only winced once. Once finished, he put the device down and came back to take Sarah's hand in his. 'That was a fairly severe sprain to that muscle. How do you feel now?'

'Seems better,' she said softly.

He sat down on the bed beside her. 'Now, Sarah, what's going on?'

'Nothing, I'm fine.'

'C'mon, Sarah, I know something is wrong. You can tell me whatever it is, after all, you are my best friend.'

At that she turned to him and smiled. 'Best friend?'

'Do you doubt it?'

'Well, no. But it's nice to hear you say it.' After a minute, she turned to him. 'Doctor,' she started softly, 'Why did the antimatter affect me the way it did? With that sort of icy suction.'

'I don't know, Sarah. You were the only human there, it could've been a reaction to your genetic structure.' He looked at the vacant look in her eyes. 'I'm sorry it scared you, Sarah.'

She shook her head. 'It wasn't so much that, but just not knowing what was happening and losing that bit of time. Anything could've gone on during those lapses and I would've been powerless to do anything about it.'

'How many times did it happen?'

'Just three.'

'I was there two of those times. Do you think I would've let anything happen to you?'

She shook her head again. 'Of course not, but Doctor, you weren't paying attention and didn't realise it happened until it was over.'

The Doctor stood up abruptly at that. He looked at her, then turned away and ran a hand through his hair before turning back to her. He picked up the equipment that he used on her hand earlier and crossed the room to put it away.

Sarah stood up and watched him as he flitted around the medical equipment, saying nothing, and not looking at her anymore. 'Doctor?' she finally asked softly.

When he didn't respond, Sarah sighed, and left the sickbay. After a minute, the Doctor looked up, 'I'm sorry Sarah, I was just thinking.' He looked around, realising she'd gone. 'Sarah?' Frowning, he headed out of room.

Sarah made her way towards her room, pondering the events that got her to this point. Despite what she'd previously told Harry, she dropped everything again just to take one more trip in the TARDIS. Of course they'd gotten drawn off course, they'd never made it exactly where they wanted to go on the first try. She laughed ironically at one of the things she'd overheard her first Doctor say, "A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it's by no means the most interesting."

They'd answered a distress call, and been instrumental in saving the Morestran ship. Yes, it bothered her that she'd lost gaps of time when the antimatter affected her, but what bothered her most was the Doctor's apparent willingness to throw his life away. He didn't explain anything he was doing, and she was left to pick up the pieces. In one case, almost literally.

When he'd gone down into the abyss, she'd gone to the area to look for him. When he finally resurfaced, she had to put all her weight into pulling him back up. That's when she'd hurt her hand, but she wouldn't have admitted it then. After pulling him up, he'd collapsed and yet she continued to try and pull on him to get them back to the ship. It was only because of Vishinsky that they'd made it back at all.

She watched as the Doctor went from unconscious and unresponsive to running down corridors, taking charge as usual. The emotional toll was what Sarah hated. As she walked into her room, she walked over and opened the closet door, looking at the small suitcase in the floor. She could pack it and leave the next time the TARDIS arrived close to home, but did she want to? Ultimately that was the question.

There was a slight knock on the door before the Doctor stuck his head in. 'Can I come in, Sarah?'

She glanced back at him. 'Sure.'

As he walked in, he noticed the open closet door. He pointed at the suitcase. 'Are you ready to go home, Sarah?'

Sarah sat down roughly on the bed. 'I don't know.'

The Doctor walked over and sat down beside her. He looked down, staring at his own weathered hands. His tone of voice was very low, heavy with emotion. 'You always have a choice you know. As much as I enjoy your company and don't want to see you leave, I'm not going to hold you here against your will.'

She looked up at him, 'As simple as that? Is our life that simple?'

'It's all about choices, Sarah Jane.'

'And what is your choice, Doctor?' She looked up at him, her eyes asking more than words ever could.

Giving her a smile, the Doctor reached out, took her hand in his and laced his fingers through hers. 'This, just this.' He watched as a smile started to cross her features. As her smile finally reached her eyes, he continued. 'It's not a bad existence, is it?'

She shook her head, 'I don't think so. Can it last?'

The Doctor reached up and gently traced a line along Sarah's face with the hand that wasn't still holding hers. 'If we allow it to. The only thing that could get in the way would be the choices we make. Or the universe itself.'

'You mean fate? I didn't think you believed in such a thing, Doctor.'

'Not fate exactly, but perhaps something akin to that.'

Sarah looked down at their still entwined fingers. 'Now what?'

He waited a moment, obviously deep in thought. 'Now, we go on. We've made our choice, and now we move forward. We still need to check in with the Brigadier like we promised, but then I think we should take a nice long holiday somewhere.'

Sarah leaned against him, resting her head against the Doctor's shoulder. 'I think I'd like that.'

Softly, he added, 'So would I, Sarah. So would I.'


	7. Starting at the Beginning

_A/N: I decided we needed to see some of the 3rd Doc and Sarah as well. This takes place between Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Monster of Peladon._

STARTING AT THE BEGINNING

Sarah sat with her back against the wall of the makeshift jail cell. Drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees, she looked over at the Doctor, who was sitting next to her. 'Well, Doctor?' she smirked, drawing the words out a little longer than necessary.

The Doctor closed his eyes and let his head drop back against the wall. 'I'm sure this will all be cleared up any moment now, Sarah.' His words and tone were positive, but Sarah watched his movements.

She reached out and put a hand on his arm. 'Doctor, are you all right?' He opened his eyes and looked at her, but said nothing. She continued, 'I'm sure the Indelians just need to get a hold of someone in charge, right?'

The Doctor reached out with his opposite hand and covered Sarah's hand that was still resting on his arm. 'Of course, Sarah. Nothing for you to worry about.' He looked in her eyes for a minute before continuing, 'I promised you a vacation, Sarah Jane, and I'll get you there.'

She smiled and leaned into him teasingly, 'Eventually.'

He smiled in return, enjoying her playful banter. 'Sarah, what would I do without you?'

'Be sitting in here by yourself, I imagine. I'm thoroughly convinced that you and trouble are intimately acquainted and never far from one another.'

He laughed, 'It does sometimes feel that way.' He looked down and realised his hand was still covering hers. Looking back up into her eyes, he admitted, 'I would imagine that anyone able to make a decision about letting us out of here probably isn't reachable until morning.'

She nodded, 'I figured that was most likely the case.' She folded her arms back over her knees and rested her head on her arms. 'Wake me in the morning then?'

Three hours later, the Doctor looked over at Sarah and could tell she was uncomfortable. Every few minutes, he would watch her shift position ever so slightly, even if her eyes never opened. Finally, he reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. She shifted position slightly to rest her head against his shoulder.

'Let me guess,' she mumbled, 'we've got about four more hours of this.'

'Probably so.'

She finally looked up at him. 'How do you stand it?'

He looked down at her, smiled and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. 'It helps to have good company.'

'I'm sorry, Doctor. I suppose I'm not being very good company at the moment, am I?'

'I've had worse.'

'Thanks,' she said sarcastically. 'Do you ever sleep?'

'Sometimes, but not as much as a human.'

'You really are an alien, aren't you?'

Leaving his arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders, he reached out with his other hand and took one of her hands in his, then placed it over his left heart. 'Feel the heart beat?'

Sarah nodded, 'Seems human enough for me.'

He then moved her hand from the left side to the right side. 'How about now?' He smiled as he watched her eyes widen in surprise.

'You've got two hearts?'

'I may look human on the outside, but internally, I'm all Time Lord.'

She moved her hand from side to side, feeling the beat of each of his hearts in turn. She looked up at him, then put her ear to the centre of his chest. 'You can hear them both from here.'

He laughed, 'I suppose so, I've never bothered to listen before.'

Sarah lifted her head up and settled it back against his shoulder. 'Anything else I should know?'

'Where's the fun in that? It's much better if you figure it out as you go along.'

She looked up at him and laughed. 'Does that mean you're not going to take me back to Earth and run away screaming at the first opportunity?'

The Doctor looked down into Sarah's eyes. Her tone had been light, but somewhere in her eyes, there was a deeper question there. He reached down and tweaked her nose and smiled. 'Not for a while anyway,' he joked.

Several hours later, Sarah slept with her head resting against the Doctor's shoulder. The Doctor still had an arm draped around her shoulders and he rested his head back against the wall and kept his eyes closed. He was napping on and off, but constantly had one ear attuned to everything that was going on. He lifted his head up as an Indelian scampered into the jail area.

The Indelian quickly unlocked the cell. At the noise of the lock, Sarah lifted her head, but said nothing. The Indelian finally spoke. 'Doctor, we apologise. Queen Xranda does indeed remember you, even if you do not match the description we had on record. Your release has been cleared and all charges dropped. However, the Queen does not remember your companion, those charges will remain.'

The Doctor stood up and walked over to the Indelian. He towered over the petite alien by a good half-metre. 'That is unacceptable!' he said loudly. 'My companion hasn't been here before, but I will vouch for her character. She comes with me.'

Sarah stood up and walked over to stand beside the Doctor, but at a glance from him, said nothing.

Thirty minutes later, both the Doctor and Sarah ran into the TARDIS, both of them out of breath and dusting themselves down. The Doctor flipped a few switches and quickly dematerialised. He finally looked over at Sarah. 'Well, that might've gone better.'

She laughed. 'Oh, I don't know, you might gotten further with the General if you'd shaken his hand instead of using your karate chop on him.'

'That was Venusian Aikido, Sarah. It's much more complicated than simple karate.'

'Right,' she said, drawing out the word. 'It looks the same.'

'Do you question everything you see?'

'I am a journalist. I have to dig into the heart of the matter. Can't take everything at face value.'

He smiled. 'It's a good thing I enjoy your company, Sarah Jane.'

She gave him just as large a smile in return. 'Oh, face it Doctor, you need someone to challenge you. It makes you prove whether you are as smart as you think you are.'

~!~!~!~

The Doctor walked back Sarah's room and patted the door lightly and smiled as he headed back towards the console room. However, something stopped him, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. Turning back, he put his ear against Sarah's door. To his ears, it sounded like she was crying. The rapped on the door, before sticking his head in. 'Sarah, all you all right?'

She was curled up on the bed, in an almost foetal position, but asleep. The Doctor crossed the room quickly and knelt by the bed. As he watched, she whimpered, obviously having some sort of bad dream. The Doctor reached up and pushed the hair away from her face. 'Sarah? Sarah Jane?' he said softly.

Sarah's eyes flew open and she instantly threw her arms around the Doctor. 'You're alive!' He hugged her awkwardly for a moment before she pulled away, recognising her surroundings. 'Oh, Doctor, I'm sorry, I must've been having a bad dream.' She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest, making sure to keep herself covered by the duvet.

The Doctor stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. 'How long have you been having these nightmares, Sarah?'

She shrugged, 'Doesn't everyone have them sometimes?'

'Yes, but you don't seem surprised. I get the feeling they're a fairly regular occurrence.'

She clasped her hands together and stared intently at them. 'I suppose they are,' she said quietly.

'So, how long?' the Doctor repeated gently.

She looked up at him. 'Does it matter?' Her eyes met his and locked. After a minute of silence, she broke contact to go back to staring at her own hands. 'Ever since I was young. Normally when I'm in a stressful situation.'

The Doctor reached out and cupped her face with his hand. 'I'm sorry you feel stressed here.'

She quickly looked up at him. 'Oh, no, Doctor, it's not like that. This, well, this is wonderful! It's just that it's all so new. I guess it's just my brain's way of dealing with it.' She thought for a moment before continuing. 'What surprises me more is that I didn't have any nightmares while we were in that Indelian jail. You would've told me if I had, or I would've remembered it, yes?'

'To the best of my knowledge, you didn't have any nightmares, Sarah. At least not that I could tell.'

Sarah frowned. 'I'm sorry, Doctor.'

'What have you got to be sorry about?'

'Well, I'm sure your coming in here interrupted something you were working on.'

The Doctor reached out and pulled Sarah towards him, holding her tightly. 'If you need me, Sarah, that's more important than anything I'm working on in the TARDIS.' They stayed like that for the longest time, with Sarah eventually falling asleep. After a while, the Doctor gently repositioned her so she was lying back with her head on the pillow. He stood up and pulled the duvet up closely around her. Resting his hand against her head ever so lightly, he whispered, 'Sleep well, my Sarah Jane.'

~!~!~!~

The Brigadier walked into the lab with a frown on his face. Seeing the TARDIS parked in the corner only made him feel marginally better. His frown got even deeper when he saw the Doctor sitting in the corner staring at a piece of equipment. 'Doctor, one of the men tells me that Miss Smith's car is still in the car park.'

Without looking up, the Doctor replied, 'Of course it is, Brigadier, it's 6am. She's asleep in the TARDIS. We just got back a couple of hours ago, and I wasn't going to wake her up just to make her drive home.'

The Brigadier began to pace. 'Doctor, this is highly inappropriate. She's a journalist and we're supposed to be a top-secret organisation. If you want another assistant now that Miss Grant has resigned, we can arrange one for you.'

At this, the Doctor slammed down the piece of equipment he was working on. 'Lethbridge-Stewart, are you implying that Sarah is simply a replacement for Jo?'

'Isn't she, Doctor?'

'That's absolutely preposterous! Sarah Jane isn't anything like Jo.'

'We all cared for Miss Grant, Doctor, but you were particularly attached to her.'

'Jo was wonderful, I won't argue that, Brigadier. However, we need a fresh perspective around here. Sarah challenges me, and whether you like it or not, I like having her around.' At that, he stood up and stormed into the TARDIS, slamming the door behind him.

The Brigadier frowned again, and allowed himself a slight roll of his eyes. 'Very well, Doctor,' he said to the closed TARDIS door. 'Very well.'

~!~!~!~


	8. Should I Stay or Should I Go?

_A/N: My local PBS station is showing Classic Who - they just finished Android Invasion last week. Sarah threatened to leave, but then...  
_

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Sarah stood a few feet away from both the Doctor and the TARDIS and shook her head. 'I'm going home, and I'm going by taxi.'

'Aw, I'll make you an offer,' the Doctor said, smiling his trademark grin. 'I'll take you home.'

Sarah smiled and shrugged. 'How can I refuse?'

She entered the TARDIS and he quickly stepped in behind her. After setting the coordinates and dematerialising, he walked over to stand just behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. 'Do you really want to go home?' he whispered into her hair.

She turned around to face him and his hands moved from her shoulders to her upper arms. She had to suppress a laugh at the sight he presented. His eyes were dark, but she couldn't ignore his hat. 'Take that fern off your hat, you look silly.'

He quickly grabbed at his hat and spun it like a flying disc towards the hat rack in the corner. They both watched as it landed exactly on a peg. Sarah took a step back, clapped and smiled. 'Very nice.' She turned and gave the Doctor a look. 'You'll never make it again.'

'Are you challenging me, Miss?'

She raised an eyebrow at him. 'Of course I am, Doctor.'

The Doctor quickly closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer to him, resting his chin on the top of her head. 'Challenge not accepted. I have a better idea.'

She buried her head in his chest and let her arms naturally wrap around his waist. 'What's your idea?' she said, her voice muffled by his scarf.

'I'm not taking you home, Sarah.'

'I thought as much.'

'Does that bother you?'

She looked up at him and smiled. 'Nope. You don't honestly think that I traipsed all the way from the defence station to the TARDIS with you just to tell you I was leaving?'

The Doctor released Sarah and took about two steps back. 'Then why did you say it? What would you have done if I'd just gotten in the TARDIS and left you?'

Sarah crossed her arms. 'Would you have done that?'

'Perhaps.'

'You've been promising or rather threatening to, depending on your perspective, since before your regeneration. You'd give me a complex if I thought you meant it.' She leaned against the console with one hand on her hip and waited for him to respond.

The entire TARDIS shook. Instead of responding to Sarah, the Doctor quickly walked over and turned his attention to the console. 'The TARDIS is going to need some repairs, Sarah.'

'So am I after all we've been through today.'

He looked up at her quickly. 'Are you hurt?'

'I've been tied up, nearly blown up, been copied in a very painful disorientation centre, twisted my ankle, shot at, exposed to radiation, almost suffocated, and nearly poisoned. I would at the very least say that makes for an eventful day. Almost par for the course with us though.'

His attention was focused back on the console. 'Yes, you might say that.' He glanced up at her and saw the frown cross her features. Leaving the console, he quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around her again. 'I do need to take care of this. It shouldn't be too long. Why don't you go take a nice relaxing bath or something, then I'll meet you in the library once the repairs are done here?'

She looked up at him. 'Don't be too long.' Disengaging herself, she gave the console an affectionate pat before headed towards the interior door.

The Doctor turned back to the console, 'Now, old girl, what seems to be your problem, hmmm?'

~!~!~!~

Sarah walked down the hallway of the TARDIS, headed towards the library. She finger-combed her freshly dried hair and couldn't help but yawn. She'd told the truth that it had been a trying day. Some of their adventures gave them a bit of respite between elements of drama, but today wasn't one of those days. It seemed like they'd run ninety miles an hour the entire day, and that didn't even begin to take in the emotional toll of the day.

While Sarah was joking about going home, she wouldn't have minded a bit of a break from the life threatening situations. She did enjoy these quiet moments in the TARDIS. Because of those, she was able to face whatever the universe seemed to throw at her. One thing bothered her. As much as she enjoyed travelling with the Doctor, and would continue to do so as long as she possible could, she never thought of the TARDIS as home. It probably didn't help that even the Doctor didn't really treat it as home either. For the most part, she just followed his lead.

As she got to the library, she noticed the door was closed and a small note stuck to it. Reading it, she smiled and walked two doors down. Opening the door, her nose took in the smells before her eyes could even register the sight. The Doctor had been cooking, and whatever it was smelled fantastic. As she scanned the room, there was a small table set up with china, silver and crystal wine glasses. He even had soft music playing in the background.

As she entered the room, he turned and smiled, 'Ah, Sarah, there you are.'

'What's all this?' she asked, gesturing around the room.

'I thought you needed something reassuring.'

She tilted her head to one side as she approached him. 'Reassuring in what way?' She smiled as she finally took in his appearance, noticing he was wearing her favourite brown trousers and Byronic shirt with the loosely laced open collar and full sleeves.

'A sense of security, a sense of home, a sense of something you've been missing out on while you've been away. Something normal, something peaceful after a very stressful day.'

'And you're wearing that shirt I love.'

'Indeed,' he said, smiling. He turned towards the oven, opened the door and peeked in. Sarah walked over to stand behind him and peeked around his arm to try to get a better view. He whirled around and grabbed her by the waist and easily picked her up and walked her several steps across the room before putting her down. 'Oh no you don't, no peeking.'

'I'm not peeking I was just looking.'

'Let yourself be surprised, Sarah.' His eyes spoke volumes more than his words. 'Sit down, pour yourself a glass of wine, relax. It will be ready soon.'

She walked across and poured herself a glass of wine. 'Would you like one?'

'Absolutely.' As Sarah poured another glass, the Doctor walked over to take it from her.

'I would've brought it to you.'

He leaned over to look evenly into her eyes, his own eyes twinkling with humour. 'No cheating, Miss Smith. You can see what I've cooked when I pull it out of the oven. It'll be ready in four minutes and eighteen seconds.'

Sarah simply raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her wine.

~!~!~!~

After dinner, the Doctor and Sarah sat on the sofa and just quietly enjoyed each other's company, the music continuing to play softly in the background. The Doctor had his arm draped around Sarah's shoulders, and she leaned into him, eyes closed, her fingers playing absently with the laces on his shirt. 'Dinner was delicious. Thank you.'

He gave her shoulders a slight squeeze. 'You're welcome, Sarah. I'm glad you enjoyed it.'

She looked up at him, 'So, what brought all this on, anyway?'

He reached up with the hand that had been resting on her shoulders and began to run his fingers through her hair. 'I told you, just to do something for you. You had a rough day.'

'We've had rough days before, so what's different about today?' She placed her hand flat against his chest and closed her eyes. After a minute, she sat up straight, twisting to look directly at him, locking her eyes with his. 'It was the android, wasn't it?'

His lips curled at one corner in a half-smile. 'Making human telepathic abilities work for you?'

Sarah frowned. 'Quit deflecting and answer the question. What did my android copy do to you?'

He reached up and ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. 'It was an amazingly good copy, Sarah. At first, I didn't know. Then your copy enjoyed ginger beer and I knew either it wasn't you or you'd been hypnotised. When I noticed the scarf, it was almost too late. Your copy tried to shoot me, but fortunately, unlike you, your copy was a bad shot.'

Sarah reached up and wrapped her hand around the Doctor's hand and leaned her cheek into it. 'I'm so sorry. I had no idea.'

'But no one can truly copy you. You are an amazingly unique individual, Sarah, and I just want you to know how much I enjoy your company. When you threatened to go home, to be honest, I was afraid you might have reached your limit.'

Sarah scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. 'No, Doctor. You're going to have to throw me out of here when you get tired of me. If you'll let me stay, I won't go anywhere.'

The Doctor returned her embrace, burying his face in her hair.

'You're tired, Doctor, I can feel it,' she said softly, still wrapped in his embrace.

'So are you, Sarah. You practically yawned all evening.'

She pulled back from him slowly and smiled. 'Well, a relaxing bath, full stomach and good wine does that to a girl.' She thought for a moment before continuing. 'Do you have to do more repair work?'

'Not at the moment.'

'Then you should try to get some sleep. I know I'll sleep well tonight.'

The Doctor stood up and held out a hand to Sarah and smiled. 'You're probably right. Come on, I'll walk you to your room.'

She smiled up at him, took his hand and stood up. 'Very chivalrous, Doctor.'

'I try my best, Sarah.'

~!~!~!~


	9. Freezer Food

_A/N: This takes place during/after the end of episode two of Seeds of Doom...  
_

FREEZER FOOD

Sarah and the Doctor began to run, knowing the bomb would be going off any second, destroying the entire Antarctic camp. The Doctor skidded to a stop, and turned to Sarah. 'Sarah? Concentrate.' Before she could respond, he reached up and touched both her temples with his index fingers, then took her hand and they both ran.

The Doctor knew he needed to try to get back to the camp, so he headed off at a sprint, knowing he was leaving Sarah slightly behind. He glanced back to make sure she was still following him, but the distance separating them was getting larger. Then the explosion occurred, throwing them both to the ground.

~!~!~!~

Sarah eyes fluttered open as she heard machinery approaching. She saw three men approaching her, one in a bright orange coat and two others in white uniforms. The man in orange knelt next to her as she sat up. 'Doctor? Where's the Doctor?' she asked, looking around frantically.

'It's all right, I'm a doctor, Doctor Chester. We're from South Bend, these marines got me through.'

'No, he was trying to reach the camp, we've got to find him.' She stood up, and began running down the hill. 'Doctor? Doctor?' she called. She finally saw the Doctor lying face down in the snow. She quickly knelt down next to him, pulling on him, trying to turn him over. 'He's alive,' she told Chester as he knelt down next to her.

As Chester and Sarah rolled the Doctor over onto his back, his eyes opened and he looked up at Sarah and smiled. 'Good morning,' his velvet tone warming her to the core, despite the Antarctic cold.

The two marines and Chester quickly bundled the Doctor and Sarah into the back of the vehicle to take them to South Bend. They sat close together on the bench seat, but were mostly silent. The Doctor looked over at Sarah and saw her staring straight ahead. He reached out and took her mitten-covered hand in his. She jumped as he touched her, then glanced over towards him and smiled. 'Sorry, was just thinking.'

'Are you all right, Sarah?'

She nodded, then went back to staring straight ahead. After a few moments, she leaned into the Doctor's shoulder and closed her eyes.

~!~!~!~

At South Bend, the Doctor watched as Chester spoke softly to another medic. Finally, Doctor Chester walked over towards him. 'I don't know how you two did it. Not a bit of frostbite on either one of you.'

The Doctor smiled, 'Superior biology.'

Chester frowned, 'You and your…friend were just really lucky. If the marines hadn't gotten us through, well, let's just say I don't think either one of you could've survived for more than an hour.'

'How's Sarah?'

'Her body temperature is dangerously low, yet she doesn't seem to notice it. Our nurse, Nancy is waiting for her while she takes a hot shower, and then she'll show her to some quarters. It's going to be tomorrow before we can get a plane in to get you back to civilisation.' Chester looked at the Doctor before continuing. 'Doctor, I wish you would let us examine you as well.'

'I told you, I'm fine. We just need to get to back to London as soon as possible.'

'We've lined up all the appropriate flights. Given what you told me happened, I just think you and Miss Smith need to get some rest and warm up.' After a moment, Chester continued, 'C'mon Doctor, I'll show you to some quarters.'

~!~!~!~

The Doctor looked around the small room, taking in the surroundings. Chester stood in the doorway. 'Miss Smith should be in shortly. I apologise for the cramped quarters, but it does have a double bunk.'

The Doctor turned to the look at the medic. 'Thank you, Doctor Chester, this will be more than sufficient.'

Chester left, closing the door behind him. The Doctor paced around the room like a caged tiger, waiting for Sarah. Each second and minute that ticked by seemed to make his skin crawl just that bit more as he worried about his companion.

He whirled around as the door opened and Nancy motioned for Sarah to enter. Sarah walked in and immediately noted the Doctor's expression. She turned back as Nancy began to speak. 'This was the only spare quarters we have, I'm afraid, Sarah, but figured the double bunk would work for you. You'll just have to fight over who gets which bunk.'

Sarah smiled. 'That'll be fine.' She glanced at the Doctor as Nancy left and shut the door behind her. Once they were alone, the Doctor quickly crossed over to Sarah and took her face in his hands, looking intently into her eyes as if he was staring into her very soul.

Sarah wanted to shrink back from the intensity of his gaze, but couldn't. She saw an embedded fury, not against her, but against the ones who'd put them in this position. It was a look she'd not seen from him before, certainly not anytime they were alone. She reached up and placed her hands lightly against his chest. 'Doctor?' she said softly.

'Are you hurt?' his voice full of concern.

'What?'

The Doctor reached up and began to stroke her hair. 'You're not hurt? Scorby didn't hurt you?'

She shook her head. 'No. Scared me, yes, hurt me, no. I don't think he had time.'

He reached up and touched her temples again with his index fingers. Her eyes quickly glazed over, then cleared. 'How are you feeling, Sarah?'

'Cold, tired.' She looked around the room. 'What happened?' She turned back to the Doctor, eyes blazing. 'What did you do?'

He began to run his hands along her upper arms. 'I had to make sure you didn't freeze.'

'What?'

'We were going to be separated, I had to make sure you'd be all right.'

Sarah began to shiver, partly from the cold, partly from his admission. 'You would've left me?' she asked softly. 'In Antarctica?'

He shook his head, then quickly wrapped his arms around her. 'No, Sarah, not like that. We would've been separated either by the explosion or by my running faster and making it back to the camp. You know I'd never leave you.'

She buried her head in his scarf and willed herself to stop shaking. 'Why am I so cold?'

'It's my fault, actually,' the Doctor said softly. He kept his arm around her and led her towards the bed. He reached down, scooped up one of the blankets and wrapped it tightly around her then briskly rubbed her upper arms. 'The hypnotic suggestion I gave you lowered your body temperature and made you less susceptible to the cold. Now that I've cancelled it, your temperature is equalising.'

'Is that how you do it?'

He nodded as he began to unwrap his scarf from around his neck and loop it around Sarah's, 'I can either raise or lower my body temperature as needed.' A wide, Cheshire cat-like grin slowly spread across his features. 'That gives me an excellent idea.'

Sarah looked up at him and smiled, infectiously caught up in his excitement. 'Does it get me back up to normal faster?'

'There's only one way to find out.'

~!~!~!~

The Doctor and Sarah lay in the bottom bunk, limbs wrapped tightly around one another, and the Doctor having wrapped his coat, scarf and the blankets around them. 'Are you getting warmer? I can't raise my temperature too much more.'

Sarah nodded, and curled up tighter against him, burying her face against his chest. 'How long can you keep this little personal roaring fireplace of yours going?'

'As long as I have to, or until the last log is reduced to embers.'

She looked up at him then, a wicked smile on her face. 'How come I haven't seen this side of you before?'

He gave her an innocent smile. 'You have, just expressed differently.'

At his expression, she gave him another look before they both began laughing. Once they calmed down, Sarah gave him an easy smile. 'Doctor, we may run into some crazy people and situations, but we do have fun, don't we?'

He leaned down and dropped a kiss on the top of her head, 'We wouldn't want it any other way.'

Sarah's expression got serious. 'This is actually a very serious situation, isn't it?'

'Yes, that pod is very dangerous. We need to figure out who Scorby and Keilor are working for and stop them. However, we can't do anything until we get a flight back to London.'

'Which reminds me, why didn't we take the TARDIS again?'

'I couldn't risk explaining how we got here. It was much easier to take normal methods of transportation, however frustrating those are at the moment.'

'So what's the next step?' she asked.

'Tonight, we sleep. Tomorrow, we get back to London, meet with the World Ecology Bureau and figure out what's going on.'

Sarah looked up at him. 'And win.'

The Doctor looked down at her, locking gazes. 'Yes, we win. Because we don't have a choice.'

Sarah leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. 'I'm just glad I'm on your side.'

The Doctor smiled, 'Me too, Sarah. Me too.'

~!~!~!~


	10. Home Again, Gone Again

_A/N: __Oh, Seeds of Doom gives us so many moments to have those stolen glimpses into the relationship between 4 and Sarah. After their narrow escape from the Chase mansion as the Krynoid is bombed by the RAF, we have time for a bit of reflection. What happened after they watched the mansion destroyed and before they met with Sir Colin?_

HOME AGAIN, GONE AGAIN

Sarah and the Doctor slowly entered her flat. He headed straight for the living room as Sarah shut and locked the door behind them. She walked into the living room and saw the Doctor staring out the front window. Without turning away from the window, the Doctor spoke, 'I wish we weren't meeting with Sir Colin in the morning. I would've rather just done it now and gotten it over with.'

'You know he and Major Beresford had some cleaning up to do with the RAF as well. I'm just as glad we didn't have to stick around for that.' She walked over and stood behind him, leaning around to peek out the window. She put a hand on his arm and leaned into his shoulder. 'Are you all right?'

The Doctor glanced at her, 'I suppose. We didn't have a choice.'

'No, Chase didn't give us a choice. Neither did the Krynoid.'

'It's been a rough couple of days, Sarah.'

Sarah walked away and sat on the sofa, running a hand through her hair. 'That's probably the biggest understatement I've heard in a while.'

'The people on this planet can be so stupid sometimes. Chase was driven by his insane desire to be one with plant life. Scorby was driven by nothing but money. I don't know why I put up with humans.' At that, he stalked off towards the TARDIS parked in the corner of the room, not sparing Sarah even a glance as he brushed by.

'Well, I'm human,' Sarah said softly.

He paused as he put the TARDIS key in the lock, and looked up at the ceiling. 'Even so, I still sometimes think this planet should just be left to its own devices.' He entered the TARDIS quickly and slammed the door behind him.

Sarah looked over at the TARDIS and frowned. 'Sometimes, I would agree with you.' She waited for a moment, almost expecting the sounds of dematerialisation. She didn't expect the Doctor to leave her, but then again, when he got in one of his moods, she knew better than to expect the Doctor to do anything expected. She sat still for several minutes, her eyes never leaving the TARDIS doors, the silence beginning to eat away at her already frayed nerves.

Slowly, she stood up and walked over to the TARDIS. She reached up and put both her hands on the frame, resting her forehead against the doors and closing her eyes. As she concentrated, she knew the Doctor only wanted to be left alone to collect his thoughts. She sighed and walked away, heading upstairs to get cleaned up and hopefully begin to put this adventure behind her.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor knew as soon as he walked into the TARDIS that Sarah hadn't followed him. They'd been travelling together long enough that she'd learned to give him his space when he needed it, and this was one of those times. Watching Chase being shredded by his own composter had been both gruesome and disturbing. What disturbed him most was that Sarah was almost the victim of that monstrous machine.

Chase had tried to pull him in, but Sarah had been his intended target. He'd only just been in time to quickly swing her out of danger before Chase attacked him. The idea of her being mangled alive really bothered him. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed that any form of danger she'd been threatened with was beginning to bother him more than it should.

He lived a dangerous life, and had for quite some time. He'd seen companions come and go, stand beside him and then ultimately leave when the danger got to be too much for them to handle. Sarah threatened to leave from time to time, but she never meant it, at least not seriously. He'd watched her change and grow as the Universe had opened itself to her. She'd been put in mortal danger more times than he cared to count, and yet she stood beside him, trusting that they'd always be able to escape, to overcome any obstacle that got thrown at them.

While he frequently lost track of Sarah's earthbound origins, he was beginning to wonder whether her experiences with him were making her less human. Despite his berating her species from time to time, he fully appreciated that side of her. She connected him to a side of himself that he'd sometimes rather lock away; but now she was so much more than just a normal human. She'd been exposed to so much beyond what she should've, and most of it was because of him. Had he destroyed Sarah Jane's humanity? And if he had, would she ultimately hate him for it?

The Doctor couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to soon happen between them, and that thought hurt his hearts more than he wanted to admit.

~!~!~!~

Sarah curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea and pulled the throw blanket across her legs. She glanced up at the TARDIS and smiled. She sipped along on her tea, lost in thought about the last few days' events. There were times she got frustrated and kept telling the Doctor that she was going to go home. Now, here she sat in her own flat. Given that they had to use normal transportation for the whole foray into Antarctica, it made as much sense to park the TARDIS here than anywhere else.

If anyone would've told her years ago when she'd snuck into the research facility as her aunt, that she would've wound up like this, she would've thought they'd gone insane. And yet, this was her life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

It felt very wrong to have the TARDIS parked in her flat with her looking at it from the outside. At least for now, she belonged inside, travelling across the stars with the Doctor. A thought in the back of her mind kept reminding her that this couldn't go on forever, but she insisted on pushing it to the very back and trying to lock it away.

It was almost easier for her to accept the strange goings on that they got themselves into when they were on an alien world, but this adventure had brought them to Earth. Krynoid pods in Antarctica and madmen in England. Apparently, life on Earth had the potential to be an adventure as well. It still wasn't something she wanted to experience without the Doctor.

Truth be told, it was moments like this, where he distanced himself from her that she was reminded of the differences between them. Whatever their feelings were for each other, ultimately, it would always come back to the differences. Those differences seemed greater than the similarities at the moment. Absently, her brain started cataloguing those differences. He was a Time Lord from Gallifrey and she was a human from Croydon. He had two hearts instead of just one and a lower body temperature than hers. She required between six and nine hours of sleep, depending on how long it had been between opportunities to sleep and he required only an hour or two every couple of days. Their logic patterns were completely different, so they analysed situations from completely separate angles.

She shook her head to stop that train of thought and went back to thinking about this adventure in particular. She couldn't block out the image of Chase being essentially eaten by his own contraption. Her heart practically stopped as she finally processed just how close it had been to taking the Doctor as well. She took a deep breath and drank more of her tea.

Sitting the mug down on the nearby end table, Sarah finally closed her eyes for a moment and was soon pulled into a dream-filled sleep.

~!~!~!~

The Doctor stood at the console when he felt a sharp ache in his chest. Instinctively, he knew what it was and practically flew out the TARDIS door. He was by the sofa, kneeling by Sarah's side in an instant, watching her thrash about in the throes of a nightmare.

He reached up and began to smooth her hair and whisper shushing noises. 'Shhh, it's all right, Sarah, you're safe.'

Her eyes flew open as she sat up and gasped for air. It took her a moment before she registered where she was. 'Doctor?' she asked, just making sure.

He nodded and sat carefully next to her, letting a hand rest on one of her shoulders. 'I'm right here, Sarah. You were having a bad dream.'

She reached up and touched the side of his face gently. 'You're not hurt, thank goodness.' The relief in her voice was palpable as she began to cry.

He was surprised as she quickly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, but he returned her embrace and soothingly rubbed a hand across her back, 'Hey, what's all this about?' he asked softly.

'I dreamt you got caught in Chase's machine, and I couldn't get you out or stop the machine.'

He instinctively tightened his grip around her, pulling her even closer. 'Oh Sarah, I'm sorry.' Stressful situations, he reminded himself. Not long after they first met, he'd found her having a nightmare in her room in the TARDIS, and she'd said she had them when she was in stressful situations. In all the times they'd slept together since then, even most recently in Antarctica, he couldn't remember her having more than just the occasional odd dream.

He stood up, pulling her along with him. For a moment, he pondered taking her back to her room in the TARDIS, but decided against it and slowly led her upstairs.

~!~!~!~

Sarah yawned and stretched, squinting her eyes against the sunlight. It took a moment for her to recognise her surroundings as her own bedroom in her flat in Croydon. She felt an arm around her waist, and looked over and smiled at the Doctor stretched out on top of the covers, sleeping soundly next to her. She turned slightly and reached over and put a hand gently on the Doctor's chest.

'I'm awake,' the Doctor said softly.

'Sure you are. How long were you asleep?' Sarah asked.

'Three hours, twenty two minutes and thirty eight seconds.' He propped himself on an elbow and turned to look at her. 'How are you feeling this morning? You were having some pretty bad nightmares last night, Sarah.'

She closed her eyes and turned away from him. 'That happens from time to time, you know that. You've seen enough of them.'

'I've not seen anything like this from you in quite some time.'

Sarah sighed, and kept her eyes closed. 'I suppose.'

The Doctor reached up and gently ran a finger along the edges of her face, tracing a line from her cheekbone down to her jaw. 'I know this experience wasn't pleasant for you. I have to admit it wasn't one of my better ones either, but we made it through, Sarah.'

She finally turned back to him. 'Yes, I know, and I'm glad, believe me. I'm just surprised by how insane some people can truly be. Chase wanted us to be turned into compost, and the Krynoid just hated anything that wasn't plant life. I never expected to run into this here on Earth.'

The Doctor wrapped his arm back around Sarah's waist and pulled her towards him. 'Unfortunately, Sarah, I think you'll find that there's a level of insanity on any planet in the Universe. But, that's why we do what we do, we have to be the voice of reason sometimes.'

'Even if it almost gets us killed?'

He smiled. 'At least then you know you're on the right track.'

'What does that say about our level of sanity?' She smiled at him, waiting for his reaction.

Seeing her smile, he laughed. 'Oh, we're definitely insane.'

She joined in his laughter. 'Oh good, at least I'm not alone in that.'

'No Sarah, you're never alone.'

~!~!~!~


	11. Crossing the Threshold

_A/N: __This takes place after the chapter here - Dismantling the Pyramid (which directly came off of Pyramids of Mars), but before the events of Android Invasion. __Well, this wraps it up, I think. I decided to save something like this for the end. __If another missing scene comes to me, I'll make sure to pass it along. Thank you all for reading and reviewing!!! :-)  
_

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

The explosion shook the entire room, throwing the Doctor, Sarah and the three Telarians to the floor. The Doctor tried to position himself to best cover Sarah to protect her from the rain of debris that began to fall. The noise roared in her ears as everything began to settle, and darkness finally enveloped her.

It was the deafening silence that woke Sarah. She tried to shift position, but between the weight of the rubble and the Doctor still covering her, it limited her mobility. She tried to turn her head, but the Doctor's face was buried in the crook of her neck. She concentrated and felt the Doctor's breath against her ear. She worked an arm free and reached around to touch the side of the Doctor's face. 'Doctor?' she whispered, then coughed as dust moved around her. She glanced at her hand when she realised it was wet and saw the blood there. She knew it wasn't from her hand, so it must've been from when she touched the Doctor's face.

She began to gently shake the Doctor's shoulder, 'Doctor, wake up.'

She felt his breath get heavier against her ear. 'Sarah,' his voice barely above a whisper. 'Are you all right?'

'Yes, but you're bleeding.'

'Piece of something caught me on the side of my face. I'm all right.'

Sarah felt him try to shift his weight and stop. 'What's wrong?'

'There's a wooden beam across my hip. I can't move it. It's resting on other detritus, but it's just close enough that I can't get past it.'

Sarah tried to lift her head but couldn't see past the Doctor's arm that was across her upper chest and shoulder. 'If we can work together so I can get out from underneath you, would that free you up to give you enough room to get out?' The Doctor lifted his head and looked Sarah in the eyes. She didn't miss the twinkle in his eyes, or the thought he projected to her. She tried not to laugh, 'You can tell me about it later, all right?'

Sarah was rewarded by the Doctor's bright smile. 'I'll make sure to remind you, Sarah, should you forget.'

'Oh, don't worry, I won't forget.'

As the Doctor tried to shift again, Sarah was able to wiggle enough for him to move more. They were able to continue taking turns, moving ever so slightly until Sarah finally got free. She was able to crawl around and stand up. She turned back to look at the Doctor. He was right behind her in getting out from under the beam. She reached back towards him as he stood up. His knees quickly buckled and he went down, practically pulling Sarah with him.

Sarah was finally able to get a good look at the cut on his face. 'Doctor, that doesn't look good.' She quickly slipped off her jacket and turned the sleeve inside out to expose a cleaner side. As he stood back up, he put his hands on Sarah's shoulders to steady himself. She reached up with the sleeve and wiped away some of the blood, but a small trickle continued.

'We'll deal with it when we get back to the TARDIS.' He looked around slowly, 'We have to see if any of the Telarians survived, and what caused the explosion.'

Sarah felt the Doctor leaning against her as they looked through the rubble. They quickly found that they were the only survivors, their Telarian hosts hadn't survived the explosion. As she turned her head away from the gruesome scene before her, she asked, 'What do we do now?' almost afraid of the answer.

The Doctor frowned, then turned Sarah by the shoulders so she would be facing away from the bodies. 'We should get back to the TARDIS for now. We need to get cleaned up and our injuries seen to. Then we'll figure out where to go from there.'

Sarah nodded and they made their way out of the remains of the demolished building and towards the TARDIS. They were almost at the doors when Sarah staggered and nearly fell. The Doctor quickly wrapped an arm around her waist for support. She looked over towards him, 'Is that you or me or a combination?'

'The latter I would imagine.'

The Doctor quickly opened the door and ushered Sarah inside. Shutting the door behind them, they both made their way directly towards sickbay. Separately, but working together, they gathered tools, antiseptics and bandages before turning to each other. 'You first,' Sarah said, pointing at the bed.

Smiling, the Doctor sat up on the bed and lay back, allowing Sarah to fuss over him. She quickly cleaned the main cut on the side of his face, then used a small sonic style device to seal it. Once the injury itself had been handled, she took a small dab of green cream out of a tub and gently massaged it into the remaining scar. The Doctor intently watched her face and eyes as she worked. After finishing up with the main cut, she gently ran her fingers along his face and through his hair, looking for any other injuries. He closed his eyes, relishing the attention and gentle touch of his favourite human.

'I think I got them all, Doctor,' she said as she rested a hand on his chest.

He opened his eyes and smiled up at her. 'Thank you very much.' Sitting up, he vacated the bed, then patted it gently. 'Your turn, Sarah.'

She sat up on the bed. 'I really don't think I got hit. You covered me and took the brunt of it.'

He looked into her eyes and smiled sadly. 'Did I?' He reached around with a bandage and touched the back of her head. She flinched and her eyes widened as he showed her the bandage with blood on it.

'I didn't feel a thing,' she insisted as he helped her to lie back on the bed.

'I know,' he said softly, not elaborating further. 'Now, turn over on your side and let me take care of this.'

She turned on her side, her back to him. She felt him gently move the hair away from the area he'd indicated previously. His touch was almost caressing in nature as he cleaned the wound, used the device on it and applied a small amount of the cream. He put a hand on her shoulder and began to run his free hand through her hair, searching the scalp for any other wounds.

_I hate seeing you injured, Sarah._

Sarah smiled, even though she couldn't see the Doctor's face, she knew she only heard that in her mind, not with her ears. _Don't you think I feel the same? I saw the blood on your face and you were unconscious. _She concentrated and sent the thought to him.

As she let him slowly turn her back towards him, she was met by his smile. He helped her to sit up and took her hand as she stood up. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him and she quickly returned the embrace. She closed her eyes as he began to rub her back soothingly. _We've danced this dance before, Doctor._

_That we have, my Sarah Jane. It's a dance I would continue with you into infinity, however it doesn't change one thing._

She looked up at him, resorting to her own fallback. Words. 'That you're not human and I'm not a Time Lady.'

'It is inescapable, I'm afraid,' he said sadly as he looked into her eyes. He reached up and took her face in both his hands and leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. _There is more we can share, Sarah. Do you trust me?_

_Always._

Hand in hand, the Doctor led Sarah out of sickbay into a room Sarah had never seen before. She looked around, taking in the vast expanse before them. 'Doctor, what is this place?' she asked, turning around and trying to absorb her surroundings. It looked like a quiet wooden glen, complete with a rustic cabin and a stream nearby. She could almost hear the water running. 'Is that possible?'

He smiled, 'Many things are possible, Sarah.' He led her into the cabin and gestured around the main room. 'You can relax here, or if you like, there's a bathroom through there.' He nodded towards an interior door. 'You can indulge in one of those long, warm bubble baths that you're so fond of.'

'Actually, I may do that and clean off some of the grime from the explosion. I should go get a change of clothes first.' She looked down and motioned towards the sections of material on her trousers and shirtsleeves that were shredded.

'I thought you might say that,' he said, a smile again crossing his features. 'There's already something in there for you.'

She raised an eyebrow, 'Oh really? If I didn't know better, Doctor, I'd say you were planning something.'

'Me, plan? I thought you knew me better than that, Sarah. I always improvise.'

~!~!~!~

Sarah emerged from the bathroom a while later, wearing the outfit that the Doctor had picked out for her. It was a simple black pair of cotton trousers and a short-sleeved white top with lace accents. She looked around for the Doctor but didn't see him anywhere. She saw a note on the kitchen table and went over to read it. She smiled at the scribbled, barely legible handwriting. "Just wait here, I'll be back soon," it said. "Help yourself to the wine."

She looked around the room. 'Well.' She went over and poured herself a glass of wine, then settled on the sofa to wait. Some time later, Sarah finished up her glass of wine and found herself getting very sleepy. She sat her glass down on the nearby table and sat back, closing her eyes.

_Sarah and the Doctor ran, hand in hand. The Doctor quickly grabbed Sarah and pulled her around a corner and held her close. The creatures that were chasing them quickly ran past._

_The Doctor leaned over and whispered in Sarah's ear. 'I think we gave them the slip.'_

_'Good,' she whispered in return. 'I thought we'd had it this time.'_

_The Doctor turned to her, his blue eyes looking almost through her. He leaned in towards her, his mouth right next to her ear. 'We're safe here, Sarah.' His mouth lingered by her ear far longer than was strictly necessary. He pulled back, but his face never moved more than an inch from hers. He locked eyes with Sarah, then reached up, his hands gently caressing her face. She searched his face for some indication of what he was thinking. Her eyes closed as he leaned in and gently began to trail kisses from just under her ear down towards the base of her neck._

_'Sarah,' he intoned in a voice huskier than she'd ever heard before._

_Sarah?_ She opened her eyes, unused to being awakened by someone calling to her mentally. She smiled as she saw the Doctor sitting next to her, his hand on her arm. He smiled in return. 'That was some dream you were having, Sarah.'

She blushed and looked away quickly. 'How did you?'

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him, 'You were projecting fairly strongly.'

She continued to stare at the floor. 'Sorry,' she mumbled.

He reached out and gently lifted her face to look into her eyes. 'Is that what you want, Sarah?'

Sarah took a deep breath. 'What do you want, Doctor? In the dream, you wanted this as much as I did.' She paused for a minute. 'Anything less wouldn't be fair to either one of us. After all, I am just a lowly human and you are the lofty Time Lord. And I would think…'

At that point, the Doctor leaned over and silenced her with a kiss. It lasted only the briefest of moments before the Doctor pulled back and looked deeply into Sarah's eyes. 'Sometimes words are overrated, Sarah.' He leaned over and kissed her again, this time with more feeling and passion.

Sarah reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying the feelings his touch was evoking. After several minutes of exploration, Sarah pulled back, mostly to catch her breath. _As much as I would like to at the moment, I don't have a respiratory bypass system._

The Doctor smiled softly. _Do you trust me, Sarah?_

_You asked me that before. The answer is the same. Always._

The Doctor stood up and reached his hand out to Sarah. Smiling, she stood up, took his hand and let him lead her out of the room into one of the cabin's interior rooms.

~!~!~!~

Sarah felt herself getting very sleepy. She tried to wrap her brain around the events of the day. Most importantly, the events that got her to exactly where she was at this exact moment. She smiled as she absently ran her fingers across the Doctor's chest and shoulder as he slept. This time there was nothing separating them. She'd felt the Universe open to her in new ways that she'd never expected, even in all the time they'd spent together.

Without opening his eyes, the Doctor reached up with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Sarah and ran it along her cheek. 'Sleep, Sarah. Quit thinking so hard.'

She laughed softly, 'I'm sorry,' she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before pillowing her head on his chest. 'So what does this mean, going forward, in Time Lord terms, for you, I mean?' she asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

He kissed the top of her head. 'There's a connection between us, Sarah. There's been a connection between us long before now. This just reinforces it, strengthens it. It's not just physical, but emotional as well. Time Lords don't share or show their emotions very well, but you will pick up on my feelings more so than the casual observer.'

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked into the Doctor's eyes. _I trust you with my life, Doctor. I trust you with my heart too. I know it'll break at some point, but for now, this is enough. More than I could've ever asked for._

He smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. _Thank you, my Sarah Jane._

~!~!~!~


	12. Brain Drain

_A/N: __Well, I thought this was finished, but I realised that I neglected "Brain of Morbius". We can't have that, now can we?__  
_

BRAIN DRAIN

The Doctor stuck his head in Sarah's room hoping to find her there, but the room was empty. Continuing his walk through the TARDIS corridors on instinct, he knew where he would find her. He rubbed his forehead absently. His head hurt and he knew it was left over from the mindbending contest he'd fought with Morbius.

He opened a door and peered into the room, expecting Sarah to be inside. When he didn't see her right away, he walked further into the room. He looked around the empty kitchen area, then circled around to the front of the small sofa.

He smiled as he found Sarah curled up asleep on the sofa. Her hands and arms were up, shielding her face. Noting her position, he frowned as he knelt down in front of her. He gently rested one hand on the top of her head and the other along her shoulder. 'Sarah,' he whispered.

She stirred, but didn't fully awaken. The Doctor took the hand that had been on her shoulder and reached up, gently pulling her hands away from her face. He leaned in towards her. 'Sarah,' he whispered again, his mouth near her ear.

Sarah reached out, without opening her eyes and put her hand flat against his chest. 'Shhhh, my head hurts.'

He ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. 'I know your head hurts, Sarah. So does mine.'

'Your fault?' she asked softly, one eye finally opening to look up at him.

'Possibly,' he said, his voice just as soft. 'Sit up, Sarah.' He reached out and helped her to a sitting position. Once she was sitting, he slid in beside her and pulled her back to rest against his chest.

Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back against his shoulder, and began to relax as she felt his hands reach up and begin to massage her temples. 'Mmmm,' she sighed, feeling the tension begin to leave her body.

'Better?'

'Getting there.' After a few quiet moments of simply enjoying his touch, she finally asked, 'Doctor, how…' She stopped talking as he pulled one of his hands softly behind her ear and gently down towards the base of her neck, sending her original thought fleeing from her mind.

He pulled her hair out of the way and continued to run one hand along her temple down towards her shoulder. 'I'm glad today is over.'

'You could say that again. You were nearly burnt at the stake, almost had your head cut off by Solon and had to undergo that mindbending contest.' She opened her eyes and looked up at him. 'You nearly died.'

He looked over and locked gazes with her. 'You were blinded, attacked by the equivalent of Frankenstein's monster and took a tumble down a flight of stairs. Not exactly what I'd call an easy day for you either.'

'I'll be bruised for a week.' Sarah reached up and rested her hand against his cheek. 'So what's with your headache?'

'Probably just the synapses settling down.' He began to run his hand through her hair. 'You're probably feeling a bit of the same. That temporary retinal blindness doesn't happen and resolve itself without some lasting tenderness to the dendrites.'

Her eyes were closed again, listening just to the timbre of his voice and the sensations of his fingers against her scalp. 'Do you think just resting will take care of it?'

'Actually, no.'

'Oh?'

'Well, now that you mention it, there is something I have in mind.'

At that, she looked back up at him again, hesitancy in her voice. 'Am I going to like this?'

He reached out and helped her to sit up. 'Come with me, Sarah.'

She stood up and allowed him to lead her down the hallways, 'Where are we going?'

'Zero Room,' he said matter of factly.

'What room?'

'Zero Room. As in there are zero influences from the outside. The TARDIS controls the atmosphere.' He stopped in front of a closed door. 'The ions are positively charged, and the oxygen content is a bit higher than earth normal.'

Sarah hesitated as she watched the Doctor quickly enter the room. 'Is it safe?' At his questioning glance back to her, she continued, 'for humans, I mean.'

'Sarah, would I take you some place I knew was dangerous?' He smiled as he noted her raised eyebrow. 'On purpose, I mean.'

Taking a deep breath, Sarah crossed into the room and at the Doctor's indication, shut the door behind her. She quickly looked around the room. 'It's small and it's empty. What's so special about it?'

'Ah, well, this for one.' The Doctor fixed his gaze on Sarah, and fell backwards.

Sarah watched him begin to fall and just as she reached out for him, she stopped dead in her tracks as his feet lifted off the ground and he began to levitate about two feet off the ground. 'What? How did you…what's going on?'

'This room exists in every TARDIS. It has fantastic restorative properties. Perfect for post-regenerative trauma, or any sort of near death experience.'

Sarah crossed her arms. 'OK, that's great for you, but what am I supposed to do, other than stand here and watch you float around?'

The Doctor lowered himself to the ground, then sat up and reached his hand out to Sarah. 'I wouldn't have brought you in here if it wouldn't work for you as well. It will just take some practice.'

'Practice?' she asked as she took his hand.

'Yes, now come here and sit down.' She sat down beside him and waited for him to continue. 'Lie back, calm your mind and just focus on breathing.'

Sarah quickly did as she was told and nothing happened for several moments. 'Well, now what?'

The Doctor reached out and took her hand in his. 'Trust me, Sarah. Have patience.'

Sarah closed her eyes, reassured by his touch, and began to breathe slowly. She felt the pressure of the floor slowly ease. When she could no longer feel the floor beneath her, she risked opening her eyes, slowly turning her head to one side to face the Doctor.

The Doctor was watching Sarah as she slowly turned to him. He smiled, one of his large toothy smiles that nearly split his face in two as his excitement of sharing this with her spilled out. 'What do you think?'

'It's incredible!' she said just above a whisper.

'Now, just close your eyes and relax. Let the room do it's work.'

~!~!~!~

As Sarah awakened, the first thing she noticed was the weight of the Doctor's hand covering hers. Then she realised she was using his arm as a pillow. She stretched ever so slightly and felt the weight of his other arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

'Good morning,' his voice was low and soft, his breath warm against her ear.

She turned in his embrace to face him and rested her head against his chest. 'This is not the Zero Room,' she said softly.

'This is more comfortable,' he said as he adjusted his arms around her.

'I won't argue that.' She reached up and gently ran her index finger along the edge of his jaw. 'Your headache is gone.'

'True. The Zero Room does wonders for healing the dendrites.' He reached up and ran a hand through her hair. 'How are your eyes this morning? Not burning as much?'

'No, they're fine. A good night's rest was all they needed.' She looked at him for a moment. 'So, what was so special about that room, anyway?'

The Doctor smiled, 'If I were to tell you that you've only been asleep a couple of hours, what would you say?'

'A couple of hours? Seriously? It felt like a full night.'

The Doctor sat up, pulling Sarah with him. 'Now that we're all rested, how about we go see what the Universe has in stock for us next?' He jumped up off the bed quickly, then turned around and pulled Sarah up to stand beside him. He pulled her so quickly that she nearly fell, but he steadied her.

'One question.' Sarah started.

'Hmmm.'

'When we left Karn, you said we had an engagement.'

The Doctor nodded, 'Ah yes, so I did.'

'Well?'

He looked down into her eyes and smiled, then reached up and cradled her cheek in his hand. He leaned in towards her, his mouth hovering just above her ear. 'It's a surprise,' he whispered.

~!~!~!~


	13. Relationship Experiment

_A/N: __Of course you realise that sometimes, even when you think things are finished, you find tidbits that you can include. This is a bit short, but I think it works.__ It's set during "Ark in Space" and "Sontaran Experiment". It starts off...well, you'll see. :)  
_

RELATIONSHIP EXPERIMENT

The light had gone out in Sarah's eyes.

The Doctor had noticed almost as soon as he pulled her from the Ark's ventilator shaft. Even after he reassured her, when she looked up at him, the sparkle was gone. Instantly, he wondered whether he had crossed the line with his "encouragement". She still wasn't used to this new version of him, and if he honestly examined it for himself, he wasn't quite used to it either.

He looked at her sitting across the room on the floor of the cryogenic chamber. 'Well, still early days yet,' he whispered to himself.

'Did you say something?' she asked softly, but without looking up from where she was focused on the floor in front of her.

The Doctor shook his head, 'Nothing important.' He looked over at her and couldn't help but watch her as she just stared straight ahead. After a minute, he went back to examining his lash up. Even though he knew the power supply was still electrifying the chamber, it gave him something to occupy his hands as his mind continued to drift to his unusually silent companion.

As he continued to work, he talked to Sarah to try to understand what she was thinking. 'You're being awfully quiet, Sarah.'

'I don't want to disturb your work,' she replied.

'Ah, but everything's hooked up now.'

'Will it work?'

'I certainly hope so. These sleepers are depending on us. We can't let the Wirrn win.'

'Of course not.'

The Doctor frowned at the wires in front of him, then sprawled backwards into a semi-recumbent position. They each sat there, not speaking to each other, lost in their thoughts, separated by more than just the width of the room.

~!~!~!~

Sarah, for her part, stared at the floor, her exterior a calm façade belying the turmoil that was running through her mind. When she'd gotten stuck in the conduit, the Doctor had taunted and criticised her. Her previous Doctor would've never done that to her. But this Doctor was new, this Doctor she was unsure of.

When she'd seen the Doctor change faces right in front of her, it had shocked her, even though she'd seen it happen with his mentor. Then he had come to see her at her flat during the whole business with Think Tank. After the destruction of Professor Kettlewell's robot, she'd been a bit lethargic, and the Doctor and whisked her away with the promise of a change. This was not the change she'd anticipated.

She glanced over at him and watched him absently staring at various pieces of equipment that he'd hooked up. He seemed so alien to her now. Gone was the dandy of a man who easily wrapped her in a protective embrace and kissed the top of her head after her dealings with the queen spider and in his place was the aloof stranger who used belittling comments as encouragement.

She wasn't sure this was something she wanted to be a part of anymore. As she continued to ponder, another thought occurred to her. This one she put voice to. 'Either it's my imagination, or it's getting very stuffy in here.'

His response was instant, but he didn't look at her. 'It's your imagination,' he said plainly.

'You'd say that anyway,' she said softly.

~!~!~!~

Sarah's heart nearly broke when she thought the Doctor had been killed when the transport ship took off from Nerva. Harry's consolations rang hollow in her ears. All she could think was that she didn't want things between them to have ended like this. She simply shook her head in disbelief.

Then he walked through the door. It took all of Sarah's restraint not to run over and throw her arms around him. She approached him, but then thought better of it and just gently squeezed his arms instead. 'Doctor. You're safe!'

She didn't hear his response, but instead focused on the look he gave her. His eyes were intense, but behind them was a massive smile.

When he asked her to fetch him a coat from the TARDIS, she knew instantly that she was going with him, wherever that took her.

~!~!~!~

On this future, unspoilt Earth, Harry had managed to fall into a massive pit, and now Sarah looked in vain for the Doctor, finding only his sonic screwdriver. She clutched it tightly, holding onto anything that would bring her closer to the Doctor.

Finally rescuing him from the Galsec team, they head back towards the pit to look for Harry. The Doctor stopped abruptly. 'I've lost my sonic screwdriver.'

She held the device up, 'I found your sonic screwdriver, now Doctor, the pit.'

Her eyes lit up at his smile, but more so at his earnest response. 'What would I do without you?'

~!~!~!~

At that exact moment, the Doctor knew that their relationship was sure. Despite the urgency of the situation, he paused to smile as he saw the light return to Sarah's eyes.


End file.
